Final Gravity

What does it mean if my FG is low for the recipe? The recipe I used showed to have a FG of 1.012 and my FG was 1.009. My OG was kind of low also, does the low FG mean it will have not have much taste? Will different types of yeast effect the FG?

Thanks,
Michael

mdd134 said:

What does it mean if my FG is low for the recipe? The recipe I used showed to have a FG of 1.012 and my FG was 1.009. My OG was kind of low also, does the low FG mean it will have not have much taste? Will different types of yeast effect the FG?

Thanks,
Michael

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It means your attenuation (effectivenes of the yeast doing its job) was better than expected. Low FG doesn't mean it will have less taste, it may be a little dryer, but that doesn't mean less taste.

Yeasts are assigned an attenuation estimate...usually between 65% to 77%. THe higher the percent, the lower (or more fermented) your beer will become.

Take the difference between your starting gravity and final gravity and multiply that times 131 and that will give you your ABV%.

How low was your OG? This could have an effect as well. However, how well did you mix your wort before you tested for the OG? It takes quite a bit of mixing to totally incorporate all the wort into the top off water.

A lower FG might decrease mouthfeel and body. In some recipes, the maltiness would also change.

Yeasts vary in attenuation and fermenting conditions also change attenuation.

The temperature of your mash will affect the amount of fermentable sugars. Higher mash temps (66-70C) will have less fermentable sugars and your FG will be higher. Lower mash temps will have more fermentable sugars and your FG will be lower.